S1: It's time for KPBS Midday Edition on today's show. The arts and culture shaping San Diego. I'm Jade Hindman with conversations that keep you informed , inspired , and make you think. Today we continue celebrating Black Music Month with San Diego's own soul disciples. Then our midday movie critics talk about summer blockbusters. Plus your weekend preview. That's ahead on midday Edition.
S2: They only get one shot on the way to the cross when it comes to getting cross. Play cross because.
S1: It's a vibe and you're listening to X faded from the mix. Tape lifted volume one. It's the latest release from Soul Disciple , the San Diego based hip hop and rap collective. Their sound blends three familiar voices from San Diego's hip hop scene Rick Scales , Ray Jones and King Cobra , and we're excited to have them here in studio with us in celebration of Black Music Month. Welcome to the show you all piece.
S3: How are you doing?
S1: Glad to have.
S3: You all to be here. Yes.
S1: Yes. X faded , I like that. I like that. It is definitely a vibe. I mean , you know , first of all , Rick , I mean , congratulations on this mixtape Lifted volume one. It dropped earlier this year. Um , what was it like to create that?
S3: Um , well , we we are just really into making music , and we're all friends. You know what I'm saying? So it's just. It's just easy. We get there. Um , and we're all very different as artists , like , in our solo careers. And then coming together with Seiji , aka quietly on the production like it's very different from what each of us do. So it's always , like , kind of an adventure. We're always , like , trying new stuff. It kind of forces us outside of our comfort zone. And that's how we get songs like excited. Yeah.
S4: Yeah. Yeah. Yep.
S1: And Seiji , you are here in studio with us. Say hi.
S5: Say , hey. What's going on? Yeah.
S1: We got you in the background. Glad to have you here with.
S5: Us to say genius.
S1: You know , um , Ray , what about you?
S4: Uh , the process of recording. Yeah.
S1: Yeah.
S4: Yeah , I know , it's been great. I mean , sage is like the mastermind. You know , he puts the beats together and pretty much is like , yo , come through , put these verses down. But , yeah , I don't know. It was an easy process. I don't know , I think it's all like fate , the way it all kind of happened. You know , it's so easy. We just kind of just got to show up. He makes it very easy.
S1: I mean , how does that feel? You know , when the when everything kind of comes together.
S5: It feels like magic. It just feels like it's supposed to be. It feels like it. It's like what took so long , you know? Um. Um. Yeah , man. Everyone say , gee , Rick Ray , everybody has their own different skills that they bring to the table and including me. And just like , like I said earlier , like , it's just it's like five lines creating Voltron , like , you know , like , it feels like we're powerful together , you know? Indeed. Definitely. Right.
S1: Right. So , I mean , I want to know more about your group's backstory. How did the Soul Disciples first come to be?
S3: Um , it started with , uh , my homeboy Ahmadi , who was a local artist. Um , he's known , uh , Sargam for a while. Uh , they're from a group called boost if like a really dope , uh , reggae band. Um , and he didn't want to rap , so he tried to pawn me off on it. That's basically what happened. So he brought me to the studio and literally left me there. And then , uh , he he came back and we were working on a song that's going to be on our , uh , full length project coming soon called moonlit. Um , and then he decided to get on said song. And then shortly thereafter , we just kept working. And then , uh , Seiji brought Ray through. They had already been working. And then one day we ran into Col Brady walking down the street on our way to the studio.
S5: And I was working.
S3: Yeah , he was working. And , uh , I've known Colbert for , like , close to a decade or more. And I was like , yo , we gotta bring that homie to the studio. And then we made this song , Snake Deal. And then the rest is history. Oh , wow.
S1: I mean , how would you describe your style? And I and I know that , you know , as artists , everybody brings something different to the table. Mhm. Um but like collectively how would you describe it.
S3: I would say it's uh it's a mixture of , it's like realism. It's a lot , there's a lot of realism. Um , there's a little bit of reggae influence because each of our influences shine like throughout this , but like sonically , like Seiji takes the reins , but it's like somewhere there's like reggae influence. There's boom bap , there's soul , there's everything is there , you know? And then like , it's really hard to describe. You kind of gotta hear it , you know? Yeah.
S4: Um , I always say it's like if the Roots grew up in Ocean Beach. So nice.
S1: I love that , I love that. Brandy , what about you?
S5: Oh , man , I it's tough because I was like , it is. It's tough for me to say because I'm like , I just think this is something new. It's different. I think that it's just like nothing's ever been done like this before. To me. Yeah. And being like , in the reggae scene that there's no hip hop artists like that , like around. And we were the guys who were pretty much putting the foundation down for that. You know , and I think it is like very different and very unique.
S1: You know , like to what's , what's unique about you all is that you work with DJ Shaggy. Like , like that's kind of a rarity now I feel like in hip hop , um , and you know , of course we've been giving DJ Shaggy all the love here. So I mean , what's it like performing with a live DJ? Oh.
S5: Oh.
S3: It's fun. Um , it adds an element of of improv to it because it's like whatever sage wants to do if he decides he's going to drop the beat right there. Those little things like that create these special moments , um , where it's like , we'll get excited. Like we're not even on the stage , like we're doing a verse and he'll just cut the beat , you know , right there. And then like , we'll keep rapping and then we're looking at each other like , oh , that was crazy. One time. Yeah , I mean , it don't always go well. That was one time. That was one time.
S2: One time.
S1: That one. But you get those organic reactions. On.
S2: On. Stage.
S1: Stage.
S3: You know? Absolutely. Yeah.
S5: It's like most of the time that we only know. No one else. Knows.
S3: Knows.
S1: You know , unless they.
S5: Were , like , watching what happened. You know , that was part of the show.
S3: Man , if you see me start laughing really hard for no reason , somebody messed up. It was probably me. Yeah. That's good.
S1: That's cool. And you guys have actually prepared a performance for us. So tell us a bit about the song you introduced called snake. Deal. Right. Yes.
S3: Yes.
S5: Snake deal. Yeah. Tell me , uh , snake Deal was about not signing over your life to the corrupt record labels. Who put you in 360 deals , who don't want to , like , let you shine shell for you , or just trying to take your talent out , like , do anything for you. You know? Um , so we we promise not to sign anything like that. You know , we want to keep it organic and , uh , you know , keep it for the people , you know.
S3: As independent as humanly possible. Exactly. Like , all of our music is just a mixture of us telling our experience. Yes. Um , like a little like bars wisdom , and then a little bit of ignorant stuff sprinkled on top.
S6: There's a little bit of a little sprinkle of goodness , you know. Yeah.
S5: Yeah. No , no.
S6: You know.
S5: I chip.
S3: On my shoulder.
S6: A little bit.
S1: But I got you , I totally understand.
S3: Like , we're like an onion. Layers.
S6: Layers.
S5: There's layers.
S6: To other.
S1: Layers and texture. And I got you , I got you. All right , well , let's take a listen. Snake. Snake. Deal. Let's listen to it.
S5: I think before we did.
S3: You know that look. But you can't touch more of a hands on brother , if you will.
S6: Turn it up. Might be a crook , but I ain't done.
S3: My brother's moves in the same accord. Like guitar strings with the same thumb. Uh , we dream big because we want more. Because things we couldn't afford made the day I got more game than most. Give me your brain like a ghost. Disappear like hollow man. To reappear in your smoke. Hurricane of thunderstorms I'm like the reaction of both. Leave your whole face down like distractions. You feel a little turbulence I'm the one rocking your boat. See these building dudes don't play. We aim straight for your throat. If I can't hit that when I'm breaking your nose. Way too smart to get played by these executive jokes. Come on. Hey , promise I'll never sign a snake. Did you know that look? But you can't touch. More of a hands on brother , if you will. Uh , might be a crook , but I ain't done my blues. Boom. To the same accord. Like the guitar strings with the same thumb. Hey , we dream big cause we want more. Cause things we couldn't afford. Made them days tried the devil tried to take my soul. But I won't let him in. We've been ahead of him. Sick. Don't need no medicine. Varsity. Let him in. Lyrical a medal , need a medal this level. Like the president. For your betterment. Wake him up like a peppermint , huh? Defining excellence.
S4: Every time I write sentences.
S3: Potent penmanship. Rich my life with no benefits. Grimey to the end of it. Probably the one who sent me. I second that sentiment. Even my simple sentence is hitting like it's the whip. So pump this. Hit like a pistol grip. Get the sniffles when listening to Rawlins. Never idle while she live in my lap at all times. Me and my dogs combined forces four horsemen in the booth. Then we chill on the porch. That potion pour. Twist the rap. Refrain. Like I know you do. Contortion left him looking distorted. And of course , hey , uh , promise I'll never sign a snake. Deal. Uh , you know that look , but you can't touch more of a hands on brother , if you will. Uh , might be a crook , but I ain't done. Hey , my dudes moves in the same accord. Like the tall strings with the same thumb. We dream big cause we want more. Cause things we couldn't afford. Made them taste tough. Yeah. Okay.
S1: Okay. Y'all ain't came in here and preach this Sunday , sir. I was nine. Hallelujah. Listen. Okay. Amen. Amen. So listen. What? That song , I mean , it's it applies to so many things , but I'm curious to know , in the music industry , you don't sign the snake deal. It's sometimes can be hard not to sign the snake. Yeah.
S3: Yeah. Yeah , absolutely.
S1: Oh , yeah. That's.
S3: That's. I was. So.
S1: So. It was so. So then how do you , how do you take on being an independent artist and getting your music out there?
S3: It's a lot of work. It's like it's you have to be willing to do more for yourself than just the music , like , right? We have to make connections. Like we have to talk to people. We have to make an impression like that. That's literally it. You have to build it yourself. Like , because we live in a day and age where we don't necessarily need major labels , we just need to be able to get ourselves in front of people. Because , I mean , I believe in what we have. I feel like everybody else here does. I feel like if we get in the room with people , they're going to like what we have. So it's like the more people that get to experience us , the bigger it's going to get. As long as we continue to handle ourselves responsibly and put in that work , it's going to get where it's supposed to go.
S1: Yeah , yeah. Also important to , like , be able to own your message.
S3: That part. Yes.
S1: Yes. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. And you know , your image. All all of that. Um , you all have. So you have such a good synergy. Um , when you're performing , how is it it different rapping in a group as opposed to to performing a solo artist? Mm.
S4: Mm.
S7: The bounce back. Yeah. Yeah. Just a the back. It's the back and forth. Um , the the where they can the you can spit a rhyme and they know your bars. So you can stop at any time you want. And they're going to be right there to have you back no matter what. Yeah , I know exactly what you're doing. And so you can actually when you're on stage , you keep your breath. Mhm. Yeah. You're not getting as tired. Yeah. You're not. Because you have to say everything when you're on it by yourself. Because we don't play with. No , we don't play with lyrics on our music. It's just like we're not playing , you know , nearly. You know , we're. Not.
S2: Not.
S1: Doing what's happening.
S7: You know. Yeah.
S3: Yeah. We practice. Yeah.
S7: Yeah. Yeah.
S3: But for me , I think it's , um. I genuinely have more fun when I perform in groups. Like , even when I do solo performances , like , I'll have Col Brady , like , come with me , and , like , when he's performing , I'll. I'll be the Flavor Flav to his Chuck D , you know what I mean? There's no.
S7: I'll jump up there.
S3: Like , because it's I feel like music is a communal thing. And the more people that you have with you , you know what I'm saying that are on the same page. Just the more opportunity there is to create these special moments. I think what makes our show interesting is because it's like they're watching a practice set , but they're also watching people up there truly enjoy themselves , and it makes it more enjoyable for the crowd.
S1: That's the part right there.
S7: Having fun? Having fun.
S3: Having fun? Right.
S1: Right.
S7: With my brothers.
S1: Is there. Is there any performance that you can think back to that? Was that was that for you? All that just you were like.
S3: Oh , that's a.
S2: Field of dreams. Yeah.
S4: Yeah. Boosted.
S7: Boosted. Boosted brought us out there. They invited us , man. We were ecstatic. Like , we were like.
S4: The live band.
S7: Booster brought us out. Yeah , that's a guest. That's a guest. And man , we were just. Yeah , that was amazing. It was one of the best days of our lives. You know , it was like in front of thousands of people , you know , that. I've , you know , you don't get that all the time. You know , and the fact that , you know , all the other bands were there watching and they were like in tune and everybody was in tune and they were like , you know , they're giving us great feedback for what we were doing. It was great.
S3: And like , that was fun. Also , when we opened for The Far Side. Yeah. The belly. It was a good night. That was a very fun show. Yeah.
S4: Yeah.
S7: The first born thug show.
S4: Oh , Oh , wow.
S7: That was. Great.
S3: Great. At the at the first.
S7: Show was crazy.
S3: That was insane. Both of them joined the world. Yeah.
S4: It was something that was interesting.
S2: That was something. Oh.
S7: Oh. Yeah.
S3: Yeah. Shut up! Yes. Yeah. We've had a lot of like. I feel like I can't put a finger on it , because every show that we've done together as a collective has been like one of those for us. I feel like whenever we get off stage , we're like , yeah , it's just.
S2: Me , bro. It's so. Much.
S1: Much. Yeah. It's so much energy. Once you get off that stage , it's like , yeah. Yeah. And what do you do with all that? Yeah.
S2: Yeah. Afterwards.
S1: Because I get it , I get it. I mean , you know , we're having this conversation in June. Oh , June. Okay.
S2: Okay. One more.
S7: DJ quick. Break.
S1: Break. DJ quick.
S2: Oh , yeah. Oh , yeah.
S3: And he brought out El DeBarge.
S7: He brought out DeBarge? Yes. He did.
S3: Yeah , he did.
S7: And he was good. He looked good. He sung. Incredible. He's like he never missed a beat. It was like. Oh , man. And he's there. He wasn't there in Hollywood.
S3: And he did not like. It.
S7: It. Yes he did.
S3: Yeah , that was the jam.
S7: We were like , we're just like this. Like , oh , man.
S1: Oh , I love that. Yeah.
S7: Yeah.
S1: Okay , well , I gotta get I gotta ask you this before I let you guys go. I mean , this year's theme celebrates 250 years of black artists influencing the soundscape and the soundtrack of of America across all genres. So how does your sound reflect the influence of black artists , you think?
S3: I mean , we all are black artists. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. I mean.
S3: And like , we were all influenced by black artists and American music is black music in my opinion. Um , it can be traced back. I feel like no matter how you slice it , you know , American music , um , it's black music. It's like we we we are talking our real experiences. Um , and we all know where those experiences came from and what those look like and the systems that have been put in place. And , you know , I mean , we can get real deep right now. You know.
S2: I always go there. Yeah.
S3: But , like , yeah , we all are products of our environments and we all come from different environments. Like , I'm. I'm not raised in the hood. You know what I mean? Some some people have been in this group. Some people haven't. We've all dabbled in things and experienced stuff. And we put it into our music. And our music is the black experience , you know? Right.
S2: Right. Yeah.
S3: Yeah.
S1: Any quick words? Last words for you in the last 40s we. Got.
S2: Got. Um.
S7: Um. Go ahead.
S4: Uh , go download our mixtape. Go listen to. That.
S2: That. Oh , yeah.
S3: Lived in volume one.
S7: Lift in volume. One.
S3: One. And if you get it on Bandcamp , you can support us directly , right? But yeah , shout out to everybody in San Diego and everywhere else is. Everywhere.
S7: Everywhere. In.
S2: In. California.
S7: California. Man. We out here , brother. Come show. Hey. So disciples. Yeah. So disciples official IG yeah.
S2: All right.
S4: Shout out booster to. Shout.
S2: Shout. Out.
S4: Out.
S7: Big booster Davina.
S3: 18 scale slapping hands.
S2: Yes , sir.
S1: We got it. We got it. I've been speaking with the Soul Disciples , Rick Scales , Ray Jones , and King Cobra along with DJ Sagu. You can find the link on our mixtape to their mixtape rather on our website , KPBS dawg. Thank you all so much and great performances.
S2: Thank you. Thank you. Yeah.
S4: Yeah.
S1: Stick around. We're talking about summer blockbusters with our movie critics. Midday edition is back after the break. Welcome back to midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. For Hollywood , summer is already in full swing. Toy story five is topping the box office. The Mandalorian and Grogu extended the Star Wars franchise last month , and Steven Spielberg is back with a new alien encounter film in Disclosure Day. Opening this week is DC's new Supergirl , and Spider-Man swings back into theaters next month with its latest addition. But what all these films have in common is that they are not really serving up anything new. And more recently , film audiences are choosing low budget horror and action outside of Hollywood. KPBS Andrew Bracken sat down with our midday movie critics. Here's that conversation.
S8: KPBS cinema Junkie Beth Accomando and movie Wallace podcaster Yazdi. Welcome to you both.
S9: Thanks so much.
S10: Thank you Andrew.
S8: So summer is usually reserved for these popcorn movies rather than the Oscar hopefuls we might see later in the year. So to kick off this month's midday movies , let's talk about Supergirl , which just opened. It is not a sequel to James Gunn's Superman , but does exist in the same universe. Here is a brief clip of Millie Alcock as Supergirl , with Krypto making his presence known.
S11: Good job buddy.
S2: Love me all. Come on baby. Cover me. Up.
S12: Up.
S13: I cars or else. Your ride is clear. The 23 will be the bus here again.
S2: I know where you're coming from.
S13: Let's be honest , babe. It's not a very high bar to clear.
S8: So , Yazdi , I think you liked Superman. So how does Supergirl hold up?
S10: So I'd hope that Supergirl would retain some of the charm , the aw shucks lack of cynicism , and the not so hidden politics of Superman , which didn't quite come up to meet that bar. I will acknowledge , though , that the film is fun , and Mini Alcock makes for a most agreeable screen presence as Supergirl , but the film in certain parts did feel kind of muddled and even a tad rote. Also , I was surprised to see that the movie is so inspired by mad Max Fury Road in terms of how it looks , and then borrows heavily from John Wick as inspiration for what drives the plot. Hmm.
S8: Hmm. So , Beth.
S14: I often just like usually I'm the one who's being all negative about a film and like , not succumbing to its charms. And I have to say , I really enjoyed this. But again , Krypto won me over. And you know , it does have the John Wick kind of plot dynamic , which is something happens to crypto and Supergirl has to get revenge or has to save him. But what I loved about this is girls usually don't get to have dogs , girls get horses and cats , and it's the boys who get the dogs. So I appreciated the fact that I finally got a girl in her dog story. She will travel the universe to save him , and I thought that was just sweet and charming. And I did like the fact that it wasn't Superman. Like they. They're not the same character. She had a different life. She had a different experience on Krypton. She's a girl. She's having her 23rd birthday. She's not happy with where she's at. Her dog is the only thing she has. And so I appreciated that she wasn't the same as him. She wasn't as open and as naive as he is. And I appreciated a scene with her mother where her mother says , I want you to be good , but you don't have to be nice. And as someone who's never been nice , I appreciate.
S2: You can.
S8: Relate to. That.
S2: That.
S14: I can relate to that. So there's a lot of things in it I like. There are a few things that I did not get at all. Like Supergirl keeps telling this young girl who's out for revenge , like you don't have to kill the guy who killed your family. And I'm like , why not? I mean , this is a comic book movie. And so , like , that whole strain of the plot made no sense to me , but I think it was a lot of fun. And crypto does win me over. I have a very soft spot for that , I will confess.
S8: Well , so a split decision there , I guess. So DC has a new film , but also a marvel character will be hitting the screen once again in Spider-Man Brand New Day. Beth , you actually know the director , Destin Cretton , who studied film here in San Diego?
S14: Yes , he did , and I was thrilled to be able to show his first student films here when he was going to school. And all of his films , all of his short films had a common thread , which was they were all about the sense of community. And I think he's carried that through into the films he's done. Some of them are small indie films like Short Term 12 , but then he worked on Shang-Chi , and he recently worked on the Wonder Man series. But even in those big kind of Hollywood franchise films , I think he's brought the sense of family and community. And one of the things I really enjoyed on his Instagram account was he highlighted everybody in his crew on Wonder Man , like down to the craft services person and also like the cinematographer people.
S8: That long list.
S2: People that he did it.
S14: For weeks. Yeah , but the thing that was so sweet about it is you really felt like he knew the people. Like it didn't feel like , oh , here's a picture of so-and-so. They did craft service. Like there was a personal note about each one. And you felt like he talked to them. And so I think he's like the perfect person to bring this new Spider-Man world to the screen. I think he's got this sense of what those characters as a unit , as an ensemble are like and can be. And so I'm looking forward to what he's doing. I pull this short little like promo clip that they had because I want you to hear him talk about shooting. So it's Tom Holland and Dustin Cretton talking about shooting a stunt scene in The New Spider-Man.
S15: This is some of the best action that we've had in any of these movies , and we've shot the most stunts on the day in camera shooting.
S16: That opening action sequence was really exhilarating. It was the first thing that we did.
S15: Putting Spider-Man on the street with cars exploding. It's just so awesome. It's going to allow the audiences to be a part of this experience.
S16: And one of the results of that is we were seeing thousands of people showing up to watch us work. It was a really lovely reminder to all of us how much this movie means to a lot of people in the world.
S14: And just a quick note , and FYI , Jackie Chan's stunt team is behind some of the action in the new Spider-Man movie , so that is just something that I am looking forward to.
S10: Very cool. Me too.
S8: And Yazdi , you're also excited about a more indie film coming up , the invite? Yes.
S10: Yes. So here's the premise for the movie. A married couple on the verge of breaking up invites another couple their upstairs neighbors , for dinner. That's it. That's all the movie is. It's set in a single apartment , but it's a wonderful chamber piece with only four actors. And when those actors are Seth Rogen , Olivia Wilde , Penelope Cruz , and Edward Norton , it is hard to go wrong. I left this film up like a cat to a ball of milk. It opens on July 10th in San Diego , and here is an early scene from the film involving the four main characters.
S17: It took me a while to come to the door , and it sounded like you were arguing. No.
S2: No.
S17: No , I just want to be honest. We were we were we were at the door before we rang and we could hear. You were fighting.
S18: Oh , we were talking. We were , um.
S19: We were fighting. We were fighting. Yeah. A bit of a contentious environment in here. So I understand if that's repellent to you. No hard feelings. You know what I mean? Completely understand. You know , we.
S17: Love a contentious environment.
S10: The script , which is from Will McCormack and Rashida Jones. It's so good. It's bitingly funny. It's sharp as a scalpel and an unafraid to go to some dark places. What I also liked about this film is that it comments on female desire without any shame associated with it , which is kind of rare in American cinema. This movie is not war and peace. It's not things blowing up. But if you want a good script which is going to delight you , then the invite is the one to seek.
S8: Beth , any other summer releases on your radar?
S14: Well , I hate to be so like stereotypical , but horror. Summer is for horror and I love it. There is a new Evil Dead film. Evil dead. Burn!
S20: We found something. Necronomicon. The book of the dead. Despite my warnings , they read from the books. Unleashing demons and demons and demons and demons.
S14: Sam Raimi produced this.
S20: God help us.
S14: And sadly , Bruce Campbell is not in it. He famously has created the character of ash , who is the chainsaw wielding hero of all the other films , but they've been making kind of these parallel track films where we had the TV series ash versus Evil Dead , where Bruce Campbell got to shine brilliantly and that. But then they were also making these like standalone horror films that were kind of in a universe of Evil Dead. And the thing I like about them is Sam Raimi is giving opportunities to young horror filmmakers. And so this time he's gotten a director , Sebastian Janacek , and he is the director of infested , which is , if you have any fear of bugs or spiders , do you not see that film? So I really love the fact that he's giving these directors an opportunity to kind of spin their own brand of horror within this franchise that we're all familiar with. And so Evil Dead Burn is coming up , and I am looking forward to it.
S8: When Sam Raimi , he just brings a lot of fun to it , to its horror , but he just , like , brings a smile to my feet.
S14: I love him , yes.
S8: Yassi , what about you? Any other summer releases you think we should be looking out for?
S10: Well , it's hard not to talk about the Odyssey , which opens in July 17th , and the release of any Christopher Nolan film is always cause for excitement among cinephiles.
S21: Tell me what you remember.
S22: What life. A son. We won the war. Help me go home.
S10: There's already been vigorous debate online about some of the casting in the movie , and I'm curious to see if Nolan is able to pull this off. It's three hours in length. I'm particularly curious to see if he's going to succumb to his usual tics , such as loud clanging music back and forth , playing with time , and generally poorly written female characters. But maybe he'll surprise us all. We'll see.
S14: I think I'm beginning to weary a little bit of Nolan. I love his early work. I mean , memento is one of my all time favorite films , but I don't know. I see the trailers for this. I am not really buying Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway as like these Greek heroes and characters. I'm curious to see it , but it seems to me to be emphasizing more kind of this epic scale as opposed to the like , human dynamics of those stories.
S8: It's a real challenge to take these. I mean , I've been rereading Lord of the rings , and it's so funny to see the books and to see how to pull that off , which I think , you know , Jackson did a great job there. But you're right. It's it's not easy to to make that leap there.
S14: You can get lost in those special effects.
S8: Before we close , let's talk about these surprise summer hits that are still in theaters weeks after opening. Beth , tell us about these summer surprises.
S14: Yes , I absolutely love this because , you know , I love things that are on the fringes and , you know , these upstarts and rebels and stuff coming out. But I think we have to credit kind of Markiplier for setting the stage for the summer with this claustrophobic horror film , Iron Lung.
S22: I will choose to believe my last here at the bottom of an ocean. Unseen. Unheard.
S14: Uncontrolled and had a tiny budget. The most blood ever used on a set , I believe. But huge , unexpected box office success. He maneuvered a contract to get the film into theaters so it didn't go strictly streaming. He had a large YouTube base of followers that he felt would come out and support him. And he was right. And so following that , we had backrooms and obsession. Both of these are horror films. They were also from YouTube content creators. And the thing about all three of these is they were original ideas , like they were not just building on a franchise , being a sequel , remaking something. And people responded. They all have been in the theaters for weeks. I recently caught up with obsession and the theater was almost full still like four weeks after it had opened. So I think now Hollywood is trying to play this catchup game. They're going like , oh , oh my God. They have YouTube creators with large followings who are getting people into theaters. Let's see which one we can like , pick up on and have them make a movie for us. And , you know , coming on the end of a trend as opposed to being the one who starts it is not always a good position to be in. So I think out of those three , obsession was my favorite. It's a horror film in which it is one of these one wish gone bad. And here is what I think is a delicious scene in the restaurant where bear is this young man who wished that this girl , Nikki , loved only him , and now she does and makes a little bit of a scene in the restaurant.
S23: Bear , I love you so so so so so much. I don't think I could live without you.
S24: You love me more than anyone in the world?
S23: Yes , more than anyone. Nikki?
S17: Nikki? Yeah.
S23: Yeah.
S24: Does your dad really have cancer? No.
S23: No. No. Oh , no. Oh , no. What? No no no. No.
S2: No.
S23: No no no no.
S25: No no no. I thought we were having a nice day. We are parents. Why does it matter? I thought we were having a night. We are normal. Ah.
S2: It's okay.
S24: We are. We are. Well.
S2: Well.
S8: Yazdi , there also seems to be sort of a generational aspect to this. Both obsession and backrooms come from filmmakers in their 20s Getting younger people into theaters has been something of a question. What is the success of these films tell you about where Hollywood may be headed?
S10: I actually am really pleased by this because it speaks to kind of the democratization of the filmmaking process. In the past , it used to be that if you're a young filmmaker , you needed to expend a whole decade of your life , right? Make a short film first , then that gets you funding for a feature film , a small independent one. And then Hollywood would notice you. But now you don't have to kowtow or try to seek funding from these Hollywood honchos. You could be a content creator and bring your movies straight to where people are going to watch them. So I think it kind of levels the field so much , and it lets quality rise to the surface , so I cannot be more pleased.
S8: Beth , you have one final outlier to mention. What is that? Yes.
S2: Yes.
S14: So it's called The Furious. And this is an Asian action film. But it was cleverly made , mostly in English. They have a number of the actors who speak English. The one actor who doesn't is just made to be a mute character , so he doesn't have to bother with it by making it in English. It made it a little more accessible to audiences , but it is a 100% Asian action style , and Asian films tend to rip your heart out. Also , there's usually some melodramatic component to it that just breaks your heart. This one is kicked off by the mute man has his young daughter kidnapped into a sex trafficking gang , and so he is dead set on getting her back , and he ends up meeting up with an undercover cop who is also sort of on the same path of trying to find out who these sex traffickers are. And here is a brief clip , which , as you will probably guess , is mostly sound effects of fights. For.
S2: For.
S22: Your daughter.
S26: She might still be alive. Okay.
S14: Okay. I just have to say that if you watch this film and you don't get an endorphin rush , like there's something wrong with you , like you feel like you've gotten a workout just watching this movie , you're exhausted.
S8: Well , Beth , you describe this as 100% Asian action style. I'm just wondering if you can talk about what makes the action in films like The Furious distinct from what we're , you know , the usual Hollywood action film? Sure.
S14: Sure. I mean , I think you can trace it most notably back to , like , the 80s Hong Kong action cinema , which is people like Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee and Sammo Hung , Yuen Biao , all these people who were working back then , and one of the keys , which is what the John Wick films capitalized on , is this idea that your actors are the stuntmen. Like , you're not having to cut away so you can do these long takes. And , you know , people like Jackie Chan were influenced by people like Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd , silent film comedians who played out these visual gags. I mean , these are the silent comedians were our first stuntmen. I mean , they were like having houses fall on them and blowing up bombs and all this. And Jackie Chan took from them and from people like Gene Kelly , the dancer , and noting that keeping the camera on an action scene lets you appreciate all the work that's going into it and how real it is , because you're not cutting away. Part of it is if you have your actors who are the stuntmen , you can create much more intense , elaborate fights that aren't like three hits than you cut , because you can't keep the pace going. It's like five minutes of intense action. The film has been playing in theaters for a couple of weeks. It's going to open Friday at Digital Gym cinema I'm going to be bringing a friend of mine , Fernando J. Huerta , who is a stuntman here in San Diego. He also works on the NCIS series right now. He's worked on films like Get Out and Commuter , and he was a he worked on The New Naked Gun , things like that. But we're going to talk a little bit about how you shoot that style , how you choreograph for that style , what makes it different.
S8: So again , that's the furious. And that opens starting Friday at Digital Gym Theater. Well , I want to thank our midday movies critics , KPBS , Cinema Junkie , Beth Accomando and movie Wallace podcaster Yazdi Avila. Hopefully , this will inspire all of us to leave our couches and go see a movie this summer. Beth Yazdi , thanks so much.
S2: Thank you. Thank you.
S27: Thank you.
S1: Still to come a preview of all your weekend arts events. KPBS Midday Edition is back after the break. Welcome back to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman for our weekend arts preview. We have music , seafood themed art , and some group crafting sessions. Joining me with all the details is KPBS arts reporter and host of the finest podcast , Julia Dixon Evans. Julia , welcome.
S28: Hey , Jade. Thanks for having me.
S1: All right. So I'm interested in knowing about this seafood themed art , but let's start with music. First is the San Diego Symphony's opening night at the shell. What do you know about that? That's always fun.
S28: Yeah , they're kicking off their summer outdoor season. That's at the Rady Shell. It'll be Rafael Perry conducting. And if you remember the shell , it opened in 2021. It's designed specifically to sound amazing for an outdoor stage. And so they're going to play Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony. There's a violin concerto by Prokofiev and Shostakovich's Festive Overture , which is this big like fan fairy sort of way to open their season. You gotta love all that brass. The show is Friday night at 730. You can get tickets , of course , but another fun fact about the shell is there is a public walking path and even like benches that are around the outside of the venue , so you can just walk up and listen that way out in public.
S1: That's so nice. And you have a few visual art options to recommend here too. Let's start with one on the walls of a restaurant. So. Right.
S28: Right. So this is your seafood art? Yes.
S2: Yes.
S28: This is at Mabel's Gone Fishing in North Park. It's in their fishbowl gallery. This space is public. Like you don't have to be a patron of the restaurant to wander in. But you can , like , you can order drinks and snacks in there as well. The newest exhibit is these seafood related paintings by local artist Andrew Alcasid. These are inspired by his Filipino American roots and how , like growing up , he'd spend all this time exploring and running around Asian supermarkets and restaurants and these fish tanks in there. Um , yeah , they're really amazing paintings. Some of them are actually pretty huge , and I always love the way Andrew Alcasid captures things in like repetition or series form. Seen this with like tiny paintings of flowers. The series of like small watercolor colors of hospital jello. Um , just really meaningful stuff. And it's on view through August 15th whenever the restaurants open.
S1: All right. And in La Jolla , there's a new exhibit of textile art. Tell us about stories and cloth. Yeah.
S28: Yeah. So this opens tomorrow , Friday , with a reception at 6 p.m.. It's at the La Jolla Historical Society. And it's about the way that fiber arts are used in storytelling and activism and resistance. So , you know , like story quilts , like you've seen that , but there's all these other ways of doing that. And there are some really beautiful pieces. There's six incredible and like innovative local textile artists , they're constantly blowing my mind with what textile art can do. There's Charlotte Byrd , Patricia Kelly , Michelle Mountjoy , Christine Lee , Marion Bejar and Claudia Rodriguez Basinski. Also some works from the Barona Cultural Center and Vision Museum's permanent collection. Should be really interesting. It's on view through September 6th. Wow.
S1: Wow. And you had a chance to check out the first of this year's Summer Shakespeare production at the Old Globe. Measure for measure. What did you learn and what did you.
S2: Think of that?
S28: So this was new Shakespeare for me and for a lot of people. I talked to you as well. The play is about a duke who decides to disappear and return in disguise a pretty thin disguise. Disguise as as a friar. And that's part of the physical humor in the play. So his deputy Angelo has to run the land in his absence. And Angelo is this super problematic character. He's strict , he's exploitative. The play covers some pretty difficult topics , but it's primarily a comedy , and to me it felt kind of like this absurd fever dream at times. It's funny and it's surprising. It was a really great experience , I was engrossed. It's on stage through July 12th , so you still have a couple of weeks to check it out.
S1: All right. Well , finally , what's going on in live music? You've always got some good picks there. Yeah.
S28: Yeah. So one show that I am excited about is James Speight , who we recently featured on an episode of The Finest and our new KPBS music series , Sun Drenched Sounds. And you can find that video and the podcast on our website. But James has a new album out. It's called separated , and we're listening to the title track.
S29: In my head. At that age , I couldn't comprehend what they said over the years that I would spend.
S28: And also performing is Allie Roswell. She's a local musician. She's super talented , and she also has an album that's coming out in October. So this is a chance to hear some new music from her as well. The show is Friday night at six and the venue will be revealed when you register.
S1: All right , great stuff. You can find details on these and more arts events on our website , KPBS. Org. I've been speaking with KPBS arts reporter and host of the finest podcast , Julia Dixon Evans. Julia , thanks.
S28: Thank you. Jade.
S25: I couldn't bear to see.
S2: Them in my own eyes.
S29: It's their lives.
S2: And my real.
S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
